Some More of Something Borrowed

Okay, so I know I've already said this, but I am SO STINKING EXCITED for Something Borrowed the movie to come out (in theaters May 6 by the way). It is by far one of my favorite books (written by the lovely Emily Giffin).

Here's just another little sneak peak of the movie with cast interviews (and your daily John Krasinski fix - in case you didn't get enough of him on The Office last night. Lord knows I didn't!).

I apologize for the spillover of the screen into my sidebar, but I am not a technological genius like my husband (who is not around at the moment TO HELP ME).

Happy Weekend!

Further Proof That I Am An Old, OLD Woman

Last Saturday, I went to a baseball game to support my husband (who is a coach) and to enjoy some of the beautiful weather we were having here in Georgia. Our team won (yea!), and then I threw my back out (boooo!). That's right. BACK. OUT.

The annoying thing here, is that I wasn't doing cartwheels or russians or anything even remotely cheerleader-y to celebrate our team's win. I hadn't so much as high-fived anyone. All I did was bend over to PICK UP MY KEYS from the bleachers where I had been sitting, and I suddenly felt like I had been stabbed in my lower back. I couldn't walk, couldn't crawl, couldn't BREATHE the pain was so bad.

So here I am, almost a week later, and I am still hobbling around like an old woman, wondering when the pain will get better. And if what I've been through the past week - trying to figure out who to see and what medication to take and just exactly what I did - is any indication of what being and old lady will be like THEN JUST KILL ME NOW.

Also, my oldest son is turning SIX this weekend. Which is a third of the way to eighteen. Which means if I blink again he will be driving and going away to college and getting married and LEAVING ME FOREVER. So yeah, time to start thinking about having another baby, honey! Think they'll give me the epidural, like, NOW?

Happy 6th Birthday, sweet Cody. Your very old Mommy loves you so much!

Happy Weekend, everyone! :)

If A Tree Falls In The Forest

This morning started off in an ordinary way -- making breakfast, watching cartoons, getting kids dressed for school...the regular mom routine. It wasn't until I dropped my oldest off at school at 9:30 that I turned on the radio and heard about the devastation in Japan caused by an earthquake, and subsequent tsunami. I was completely shocked. I'm still in shock.

We go about our lives sometimes, completely unaware that there is a world full of other people out there, and that a great number of them are suffering. I remember feeling a similar way when 9/11 happened. I was in London, England, and had just spent a beautiful morning walking through the Museum of London, completely unaware of the tragedy that was unfolding back home. 

Except this time it's not my homeland, it's someone else's.

My prayers are with the Japanese people, and anyone else affected by these natural disasters. 

Favorite Things

It's Fun Friday, kids! So today I wanted to share one of my favorite things with you (like Oprah, except I'm too poor to actually give anything away, but if I could...YOU'D GET A CAR and YOU'D GET A CAR and YOU'D GET A CAR! Hee hee.). I mean, besides pancakes. And fountain drinks. And pretzel M&M's. Oh, and my children's laughter. Yes. That too. (Mom of the Year!)

This book, right here:

Something Borrowed, by the lovely Emily Giffin spurred me on to finishing my novel when I really didn't want to go any further. I had started it, and then fell into a rut. Then I read this book (and then ALL of her books), and it inspired me so much that I got back to writing again. And now... it's been made into a movie! Squee! I know I'm going to LOVE this movie (hello, John Krasinski from The Office! LOVE!). The only thing that stinks is that I have to wait until May to see it :( Here's the trailer:

 Happy Weekend! What's one of your favorite things?

For The Music Lover

I was reminded yesterday that tickets for Bonnaroo go on sale tomorrow. If you're not familiar with Bonaroo, it is a 4-day music and arts festival held in Manchester, TN. I have always wanted to go to a huge music festival like this, where you basically camp out for four days and listen to some amazing music, but have yet to do so. It is on my bucket list, to be sure. That, and not showering for 4 days straight.

This year's lineup is especially wonderful, in my opinion, because Ray LaMontagne will be there. I had the chance to hear him live a few months ago when he opened for David Gray here in Atlanta, and it was spectacular. In addition to Ray, here are a few other artists that I LOVE LOVE LOVE that will be there, too. Click on the links to hear them for yourself.

The Decemberists - this band is like a mixture of some of my favorite 90's artists rolled into one: REM, Gin Blossoms, and Natalie Merchant.

Mumford and Sons - Love these guys. They're British, and we all know how I feel about British things, don't we? Plus, they use a banjo.

Iron and Wine - The vocals on some of these songs are absolutely heartbreaking, and I adore them (and yes, they are on the Twilight soundtrack, no judgement!).

Also, The Black Keys, Florence + the Machine, and Alison Krauss w/ Union Station.

That is only a small sampling of this HUGE event, but I just wanted to share some of my favorite music! Happy Weekend!

What's on your iPod/Pandora/radio?

*Photo courtesy of Google Images

Holy Biblical Reference Malfunction

I can't even tell you how many times I have watched this video, y'all. I spent the better part of an evening laughing about this with my husband (because, in reality, we are still middle schoolers at heart). The poor guy's face right after he says what he didn't mean to  say is PRICELESS.

Watch. Laugh. Enjoy.

Happy Friday!

Free Starbucks Contest Winner!

Who's ready to mainline some STARBUCKS???

First of all, thank you so much to all who participated in the contest! I love meeting new people and getting a peek at what people are writing! Unfortunately, no agents responded. It's like they have WORK to do or something :P

And now, the moment we've all been waiting for! 

The WINNER of the $20 Starbucks gift card is...

DIANE J.!!!!

Congratulations, Diane. (Drop me an email beth@beth-mann.com and tell me where you'd like it sent, and I will put it in the mail right away!)

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend, and thanks again for playing!

*Photo courtesy of Google Images

There's Another Mean Girl, And Her Name Is Twitter

If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter then you already know that I received a rather alarming suggestion a few days ago. If you don't, then I'll give you a recap. Apparently, Twitter thinks I need to lose weight:

See that first suggestion? When I saw it I almost dropped my doughnut apple. Twitter thinks I need to follow Weight Watchers?! When did you get so judgy, Twitter? Why can't you just "like" me and ask me if I want to be friends with people like Facebook does?

I don't do diets - never have, never will. Don't tell me NOT to eat a certain something, because I inevitably will...a lot of it. I'm a rule breaker, remember? But exercise? Exercise I can do. So I decided to take a spin class because I'm a masochist it seemed like the cool thing to do.

"What'd you do today, Beth?"
"Oh, me? I went to spin class. I spin now. Yep, I'm a spinner."

In all honesty, I did the spin class because I enjoy being yelled at directed when I'm working out, and since I can't justify spending the money on a personal trainer, I found the first class available and went in.

The first thing I noticed was that the class was being led by a woman who, I kid you not, looks like Halle Berry on steroids: she is gorgeous and TOTALLY ripped. Gorgeous + totally ripped = I'll have what she's having. Second, WHO IN THE WORLD designs these bike seats? Could they not just add a little more padding so that we're sitting on an actual seat rather than something that looks like the Batmobile? Think I'm kidding?

My hilarious friend, Angie, suggested that I buy some of those spandex pants with the padded butt that they make specifically for cyclists, and I agree that in theory that that would make my spin experience far less painful. However, it would also make my butt look even bigger! I mean, what would Twitter say?

Despite hobbling out of that first class with Gumby legs, I really enjoyed it and am planning to do it more. Maybe then Twitter will suggest I follow @herehaveatwinkie or @youshouldreallyeatsomething. (I made those up, they are not actual Twitter accounts!)

Happy Weekend, everyone.

*Bike Seat and Batmobile Photos Courtesy of Google Images

A Little Bit of Perspective

I was fully prepared to post a rant today about how crazy this last week has been having the kids home from school due to snow (and it has been, trust me). But with all that's been going on in other parts of our country and other parts of the world, I can't help but be grateful. My children are safe, unlike 9 year old Christina Green, who died due to senseless violence in Arizona. My house might be covered in snow, but it is not under water like many of the homes in flooded Australia. We have not once lost power, we have been able to go to the grocery store, and we've had some really good family bonding time. Yes, it's been crazy, but I am grateful. 

Have a great weekend, everyone. 

What Women Want

My friend Meg sent me this to me in an email and I thought it was too funny not to share here.

Happy Weekend, everyone. And by all means, have some wine. :)

Merry Christmas, Internet!

My 3 year old son is OBSESSED with Rudolph, who he affectionately calls "Rudoll" (making me think that Santa's lead reindeer is somehow a cast member from that Nazi movie that Brad Pitt starred in). Anyway, I was looking for a cute RUDOLPH picture, and I stumbled across this little comic, and thought it was funny. COME ON, PEOPLE, I live in Georgia, where kids are taught to hunt straight out of the womb (and equipped with Skoal and muddin' tires for when they get their driver's license). What did you expect?

I hope that everyone has a wonderful Christmas and a very Happy New Year. Be safe if you're traveling, and I'll see you back here on January 3rd!

You Too Can Survive The Holidays

There seriously should be a self help book for getting through the holidays. Maybe I'll write it one day, you know, pending I actually SURVIVE this Christmas. It'll be like an advent calendar combined with a weight loss program and filled with daily reminders TO NOT KILL SOMEONE.

Ahem.

Something that has made the craziness of this Christmas season just a bit more bearable is the Portable North Pole . You can go to this site and design a custom message from Santa to your child. It even allows you to enter specific information like behaviors you've had them work on this year (we set ours so Santa would see that we've had our boys working on being nice to one another), your child's age, and even what city you live in so that it show's Santa's sleigh route on a GPS screen. Needless to say, it has been a total hit with our kids. Our three year old, Tyler, has watched his EVERY DAY.

So go make a message for your kid from Santa. Then sit back and sip your spiked eggnog, and watch as your children squeal with delight.

Have a great weekend everyone. I'll see y'all here on Mommy Monday, unless of course, I get into a fight while Christmas shopping at Target and decide to deck something other than the halls! and we'll talk about baking cookies, or as I like to call it BUYING COOKIES!

Because I Don't Really Cook

I don't usually tune in to Rachael Ray's talk show to see what meal she's cooking up, because, well, I don't cook all that much. I mean, I'm not completely inept...I make a mean fajita. But yesterday, I was flipping through the channels while folding laundry and came across her show. The first thing that grabbed me was that she had Stefan (Paul Wesley) from The Vampire Diaries on (go ahead, I'll give you a moment to daydream about Damon (Ian Somerholder), because you know he's the real reason we all watch TVD, am I right.).

Then, she had on this couple, Suzanne Cleary and Peter Harding, who are hand dancers. Sounds strange right? It is, but it is also incredibly awesome! Apparently, they are a YouTube sensation, and if you take the two minutes to watch this video, you will see why. A-mazing. It's like Riverdance, but with their hands!!!







Happy Weekend, Everyone!

A Halloween Public Service Announcement

This is a repeat post from last year, but I think it will serve you well. Stay safe out there this weekend!

*My Buzz and Woody - Halloween 2009*

LESSONS I LEARNED FROM HALLOWEEN 2009

1. You CAN get a hangover from candy. The remedy? MORE CANDY.

2. Your child COULD be allergic to his costume. But since you paid $40 for it, you WILL give him Benadryl and tell him to buck up.

3. Carving three pumpkins = insanity.

4. Use old Christmas lights to light your pumpkin instead of an actual candle if you're going to be leaving your house on Halloween. That way, your house doesn't burn down and everyone can still enjoy the stenciled-on ghost face that your husband painstakingly carved out of your enormous pumpkin. Everyone wins.

5. Buy a smaller pumpkin next year.

6. Trick or treating in the cold and rain is still fun for kids. For adults...not so much.

7. Make sure you're invited to a friend's house where this recipe is being served. Trust me.

8. Make sure that friend is a great photographer, because you might get just about the cutest picture you've ever seen of your kid in a costume.

And now a word about the Fall Back time change: When you think it's a good idea to stay over at your friend's house and keep your kids up later so that they'll "sleep in" the next morning instead of waking up an hour earlier? IT'S NOT.

That is all.

You're welcome.

Just Because

I just wanted to drop in real quick and say a huge THANK YOU to all of you who have encouraged me over the last couple of weeks with regard to my upcoming conference and my writing in general. I'm still freaking out, but have a peace (God-given to be sure) that everything will work out the way it is supposed to. I'm not going to be blogging next week, as it will be THE WEEK (I leave next Friday morning!), but I wanted to leave you with a little gift (an intangible one, but a gift nonetheless).

Girls, these are for you...

Boys, this one's for you...

Happy Friday everyone, and I'll see you all back on Monday, the 25th, with plenty of stories and stuff I learned from the conference.

Pumpkin Stuff - It'll Change Your Life

This is a repost, but I thought it was appropriate for the time of year. This recipe is TO DIE FOR...so go out, get your ingredients, and get to it!

Happy (almost) Halloween!!

My sweet friend, Jodi, shared this AMAZING recipe, and I thought that all of you beautiful people deserved to have it, too. Speaking of amazing things, Jodi is an incredibly talented photographer and graphic designer, so you should also hop on over to Leapfrog Creations and check out her site. Thanks, Jodi, for the delicious recipe!

Pumpkin Stuff

1 15 oz. of canned pumpkin
1 can of evaporated milk
1 cup of sugar, regular white
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
3 Eggs (slightly beaten)

Mix all of that in a bowl, pour in a greased 9 X 13 pan

On top of that spread the following 3 ingredients below: Do not make the cake as directed, just crumble the whole cake mix, just powder stuff, on top of the pumpkin mixture. You can add the pecans if you want. I didn't and it was still awesome. But I am sure it would be great with them, because they would be on the top and they would get all toasted up YUM!! Yes, I said just the powder stuff, just trust me, it will work. On top of the cake mix and nuts, as evenly as you can, pour on the 2 sticks of butter. If there are some areas that are still powdery, it works out, so don't worry.

1 Yellow Butter Cake Mix
1 cup chopped Pecans (optional)
2 sticks of butter, melted

Bake in a 350 oven for 50 - 60 minutes

Frosting: Make while the pumpkin stuff is baking

1 8 oz. block of cream cheese (softened)
1 cup powdered sugar
2 cups of Cool Whip (thawed)

Mix these 3 ingredients together. I got out the electric mixer to make it smooth, but the recipe didn't call for that. After the Pumpkin Stuff has cooled, smear the frosting all over. Quite delicious still warm, but I think even better cold, the next day. Store in the fridge, if there is anything left.

*Photo courtesy of Google Images

What Day Is It?

*Photo courtesy of Google Images

I've just recovered from a vicious stomach bug, which attacked 3 of the 4 people in this house. I can honestly say I have never loved my husband (the only one spared from this horrifying virus - you'll see why in a moment) more than I do right now. He is my hero, my knight in shining armor, wielding his can of Lysol like a sword and slaying the invisible germs of death with ease.

Internet, I can do colds. I can do sore throats, stuffy heads, coughing, and sneezing. What I CANNOT do is puking. And OHHHH THE PUKING that happened in this house two nights ago. Oh, I'm sorry. Does the word "puke" make you uncomfortable? PUUUUUUKE.* At one point, I'm pretty sure I asked the Good Lord to take me home, and I'm almost sure I meant it. I wanted to die. I thought I was dying.

Every once in a while I would see a strange Avatar-like creature with a blue face and blue hands. I thought it could be an angel, only the angels I'd read about in the Bible weren't blue. Only after the fever broke did I realize it was my sweet husband wearing a blue medical mask and blue latex gloves on his hands, deftly avoiding the plague that was upon us. I married a smarty, Internet.

Today is the first day I'm actually able to get out of bed without feeling like I'm going to fall over, what with all the dehydration and lack of food and all. And it feels GLORIOUS. The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and the weather is lovely. I'm going to sit outside and enjoy the fresh air this weekend, and I hope you all can do the same.

Happy Weekend, everyone!

*I apologize for my rudeness. I blame the virus. I believe the adorable cat picture makes up for it? No? I'll try again next week.

Is There A Dog Barking?

I mumbled that exact question to my husband sometime in the middle of the night last night. His response? ZZZZZZ. Then I hit him gently prodded him and said, "Do you hear that?" He didn't. About 10 minutes later, our youngest child came into our room crying and saying his throat hurt. Then he let out a sound that was not at all childlike, more like what a child might sound like if it swallowed a grenade and then burped.

So I took little man back to his room and snuggled for an hour before he fell back to sleep. This morning we went to the doctor, because we're headed into the weekend and I did not want to have to make a trip to the ER if this thing got worse. Plus, I'm going to a conference starting today, and didn't want to leave the husband with a sick kid and no meds. 

My doctor said it first, "Was it a seal-like barking sound?" Why yes, actually, yes it was. I wonder if doctors are required to take a zoology class in med school to learn to identify animals by their barks, because she totally hit it out of the park. One yucky throat swab and a few tears later, he was diagnosed with croup. CROUP. Ugh. One prescription and a Spiderman sticker later, and we were headed home.

Here's hoping your weekend doesn't involve a barking seal - unless you're going to the zoo, because that's WAY more fun.

Help for your Query Letter

Click here for a "How To" on writing your query letter.

Taherah totally nailed it, don't you think? :)

Happy Friday, everyone!

There Will Be Blood

My husband's car decided to have a tantrum yesterday (as cars so often do - especially cars that are almost paid off), so he took mine to work this morning.

So. I'm without a car today, on this FUN FRIDAY.

Okay, I realize that this is a First World problem (the kind of problem that only people who live in First World countries understand, i.e. broken air conditioning units, broken fake nails, broken computers...you get the idea). The rational part of my brain realizes that I shouldn't be complaining, that I'm sitting here in the air conditioning having just eaten an entire breakfast of eggs, bacon, and pancakes (because it's Fun Friday! I get bacon! Okay, who am I kidding, I eat bacon almost daily. I love bacon - sue me.) while I peruse the Internet while my child is distracted by Curious George.

I get it.

But the irrational side of my brain just registered that I DRANK MY LAST COKE LAST NIGHT. I reached into the box and came up with NOTHING. Do you have any idea what this means? I have no coke. NOOOOO COOOOOOKE. And no car. And a husband who won't be home until two in the morning.

Wait a minute, let me just check something...

I have wine! All is not lost!

Happy Weekend everyone. I will not be posting on Monday, so come back and see me on Wednesday!